I received an ARC of Saint X from the publisher to review, these are my honest thoughts and opinions.
Imagine paradise? What do you picture in your mind? For many it is crystal clear water, palm trees, and sandy beaches. If you are one of those people, Saint X is paradise for you. Located in the Caribbean, tourists visit from passing Cruise Ships or stay at one of the islands many resorts. Every once and while however, paradise can turn from beautiful to terrifying.
Many years ago, seven year old Clairey Thomas, her sister Alison, and their parents spent Christmas on St. Thomas. It was a lovely week, just like all their holidays had ever been, because every year they travel somewhere new. Clairey, a shy, timid girl stayed off to the sidelines most of the time, while 18 year old Alison was completely the opposite. Alison garnered attention wherever she went, and she loved it. The other young men staying at the Indigo Bay resort admired her, but she took a special liking to two of the employees, Edwin and Clive.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas don’t realize the full extent of Alison’s behavior on their family vacation, tuning out any problems, because after all, they are on vacation. Clairey is an observant child though, and she sees things others don’t. On the morning the family is supposed to leave home for New York, Alison is reported missing. Day after day the family waits, hoping she will turn up. On the third day, a body turns up at Faraway Cay. Alison Thomas is dead.
Edwin and Clive are arrested on suspicion of murder, but the evidence is ultimately too slim. It is announced that no foul play is believed to be at play in Alison’s death. The Thomas’s didn’t agree, but began to move on with their lives. Almost twenty years later Clairey is living in New York when she gets into a taxi that is driven by none other than Clive Richardson. At that moment Clairey decides the universe has put her in the perfect position to find out exactly what happened to Alison. But what other truths might she discover, and in her search for her sister, will she end up losing herself?
I wouldn’t call Saint X a mystery. Yes there is an unsolved murder, and the premise is the main character trying to discover what truly happened the night her sister died. Yet what the story here shows us is how the death of someone affects other people, and continues to affect them for years afterward.
There wasn’t much I didn’t love about Saint X. The reason I didn’t give it a full five stars is simply because the ending was different than what I expected, and while I enjoyed the book greatly, that and some other parts left me a tad confused.
Nonetheless, the writing is wonderful and draws you right into the story. You can imagine yourself right on the beach, or roaming the streets of New York. I loved the different perspective of Clairey and Clive, and the glimpses into the other people who were impacted by Alison’s death. I liked how the author setup Clairey’s obsessive tendencies when she was young, so that what happens later in the book makes sense. Also that fact that while Alison seemed like this perfect, wonderful girl, she wasn’t, and had issues too.
If you are looking for an exciting novel that will leave you with questions, and make you think, I would highly recommend Saint X. You aren’t going to be able to put it down because you’ll constantly want to know what happens next.
Imagine paradise? What do you picture in your mind? For many it is crystal clear water, palm trees, and sandy beaches. If you are one of those people, Saint X is paradise for you. Located in the Caribbean, tourists visit from passing Cruise Ships or stay at one of the islands many resorts. Every once and while however, paradise can turn from beautiful to terrifying.
Many years ago, seven year old Clairey Thomas, her sister Alison, and their parents spent Christmas on St. Thomas. It was a lovely week, just like all their holidays had ever been, because every year they travel somewhere new. Clairey, a shy, timid girl stayed off to the sidelines most of the time, while 18 year old Alison was completely the opposite. Alison garnered attention wherever she went, and she loved it. The other young men staying at the Indigo Bay resort admired her, but she took a special liking to two of the employees, Edwin and Clive.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas don’t realize the full extent of Alison’s behavior on their family vacation, tuning out any problems, because after all, they are on vacation. Clairey is an observant child though, and she sees things others don’t. On the morning the family is supposed to leave home for New York, Alison is reported missing. Day after day the family waits, hoping she will turn up. On the third day, a body turns up at Faraway Cay. Alison Thomas is dead.
Edwin and Clive are arrested on suspicion of murder, but the evidence is ultimately too slim. It is announced that no foul play is believed to be at play in Alison’s death. The Thomas’s didn’t agree, but began to move on with their lives. Almost twenty years later Clairey is living in New York when she gets into a taxi that is driven by none other than Clive Richardson. At that moment Clairey decides the universe has put her in the perfect position to find out exactly what happened to Alison. But what other truths might she discover, and in her search for her sister, will she end up losing herself?
I wouldn’t call Saint X a mystery. Yes there is an unsolved murder, and the premise is the main character trying to discover what truly happened the night her sister died. Yet what the story here shows us is how the death of someone affects other people, and continues to affect them for years afterward.
There wasn’t much I didn’t love about Saint X. The reason I didn’t give it a full five stars is simply because the ending was different than what I expected, and while I enjoyed the book greatly, that and some other parts left me a tad confused.
Nonetheless, the writing is wonderful and draws you right into the story. You can imagine yourself right on the beach, or roaming the streets of New York. I loved the different perspective of Clairey and Clive, and the glimpses into the other people who were impacted by Alison’s death. I liked how the author setup Clairey’s obsessive tendencies when she was young, so that what happens later in the book makes sense. Also that fact that while Alison seemed like this perfect, wonderful girl, she wasn’t, and had issues too.
If you are looking for an exciting novel that will leave you with questions, and make you think, I would highly recommend Saint X. You aren’t going to be able to put it down because you’ll constantly want to know what happens next.